It’s the lockstep of the penquins versus the soft-shoe of an outcast in “Happy Feet,” the hard-to-resist animated musical that features the return of the stars of last summer’s documentary (ice) blockbuster: the emperor penguins.
During the harsh winter when the female folk are away bringing home the krill, the fellas sit atop the eggs. Those familiar with the documentary “March of the Penguins” know that when Memphis (Hugh Jackman) lets his slip into the snow, it is a desperate moment. Come warmer weather, the egg might not crack.
It does, but the downy ball of fluff is born with a hatchling defect: He can’t stop moving his webbed feet. That would be weird enough. But worse, Memphis and Norma Jean’s boy, Mumble, can’t carry a tune.
Director and co-writer George Miller – the man who brought us Mad Max but also Babe “the talking pig” – uses this tale of Mumble’s difference and his gift to craft a sweet, if incomplete, lesson about conformity, individuality and community.
As the emperor penguins work their high notes, “Happy Feet” resembles “Antarctica Idol.” Only there is a lot more at stake than the approval of an odd triumvirate of judges. The emperor penguin’s ‘”heartsong” is its call for a mate. The movie begins with Mumble’s parents heartsong courting. And if Nicole Kidman sounds like Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like It Hot,” that likely is intentional. After all, her name is Norma Jean. Brittany Murphy plays Mumble’s potential song-and-dance partner, Gloria.
The pontificating Noah the Elder reminds his penguin huddles in a foggy brogue – delivered by Hugo Weaving – that the name of that tune is survival.
Tap dance phenom Savion Glover provides the paddle and rolls, the digs, stomps and claps that make Mumble such a talented oddball. E.G. Daily, who won us over as the voice of Miller’s wonder pig, provides the voice for baby Mumble. Elijah Wood gives earnest voice to the older Mumble.
With the growing number of studio animation units, it’s interesting to see what tricks filmmakers ply to please the chaperones of their tiny-tot audience. “Happy Feet” smartly shifts much of the winks and innuendo of adult chatter onto a soundtrack heavy with familiar pop tunes – for instance the slightly bawdy “Let’s Talk About Sex.”
Instead, Robin Williams provides the nonstop scatting that gives “Happy Feet” its zestiest pleasures. When Mumble leaves the community – because leave he must – he meets up with a wisecracking crew of Adelie penguins from very south of the border. Williams plays Ramon, the most talkative of the Adelie Amigos. He also plays the sanctifying, preach-it-penguin-preach Lovelace.
It’s easy to applaud – easier still to enjoy – “Happy Feet’s” diversity. But one wonders if Williams isn’t committing a sort of vocal version of a minstrel show: When he’s not playing an amigo, he’s doing a black church version of the accidental guru the Adelies come to with their questions.
If ever you tire of the fauna, the animators have created awesome blue-and-white ice vistas and beckoning waterways. When the penguin chicks take their first dive into that deep blue, their streaks look like contrails. When “Happy Feet” isn’t being pretty darn fun, it’s just plain pretty.
“Happy Feet” | *** RATING
PG for some mild peril and rude humor|96 minutes|ANIMATED PENGUINS! |Directed by George Miller; written by Miller, John Collee, Judy Morris, Morris Coleman; with the voices of Elijiah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, E.G. Daily|Opens today at area theaters.
